Capstones
Graduation Date
Fall 12-13-2022
Grading Professor
Kristine Villanueva, Alyxaundria Sanford, Carrie Brown
Subject Concentration
Engagement Journalism
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Abstract
New York City is a city of water — over 520 miles of rivers, ocean, canals and harbor. Historically, much of what is now New York city was wetlands and marshes. 1.3 Million New Yorkers, or about 15% of residents currently live in a coastal floodplain. More than half of those identify as non-white, and more than half live in areas with low median income.
As severe storms and rainfall become more common with the changing climate, many more neighborhoods further inland, away from the coast, are being impacted by inland flooding which is caused by sewer overflow. New York’s aging sewer system often cannot hold the volume of rainwater during severe storms.
Whether it’s a flooded first floor like Carrie Moore experienced in Sunset Park or a deadly situation like that in Hollis, Queens, where the residents of the basement apartment owned by the Shivprasad family died during Hurricane Ida in 2021: these flood impacts are costly. Over 40 people died during Hurricane Ida in NYC last year.
Millions more New Yorkers in inland neighborhoods are newly at risk of flooding, and while long term city infrastructure changes are needed (really, a whole new sewer system), these folks need information about how to be safe and prepared in the meantime.
Right now, FEMA flood maps, which power NYC’s city flood prep website, FloodHelpNY.org, only show coastal storm surge flooding, not the inland flooding that happens when the sewers can’t hold all the rain. The two maps below show a building where the residents of the basement apartment died during Hurricane Ida in 2021 due to flooding. The FloodHelp map shows “minimal hazard,” but the stormwater map shows that up to a foot or more of flooding is likely at the same address. Understanding the risk of both kinds of flooding can be a matter of life or death: you have to check two maps.
This is just one example of the ways in which flood resources are scattered across different department websites, and complicated to use, even to find out the most basic information.
So, for New Yorkers who are newly at risk of flood impacts, NYC Flood Guide: A Scavenger Hunt makes it easy for people to understand the actions they can take to be prepared for flooding, and how they can deal with its impacts.
It’s a printed zine distributed at community hotspots, a landing site, and an instagram account that covers topics like how to use flood maps, get help if your landlord won’t fix your leak, advocate for infrastructure change, and how to meet your neighbors!
It includes several concrete actions folks can take, along with some more in-depth written pieces.
Recommended Citation
Zirneklis, Christine A., "If you live in New York City, you’re (probably) at risk of flooding. Here’s what to do about it. Digging into the information needed to live in NYC as the climate changes" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gj_etds/618